GENERAL50923

• Permit No: M1987044
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 3/13/1996
• Doc Name: PUBLIC NOTICE
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

CESPK-CO-R Public Notice Number 199475348
The Animas River is bordered by U.S. Highway 550 to the west and County Road 250 to
the east, from which the Walker Pit is accessed. In this portion of the valley, configuration
of the river is described as an irregular, somewhat tortuous, meander pattern. Channel
meanders and oxbows (abandoned channels) are quite distinct and easily recognized in aerial
view. Eroded vertical banks are common throughout this reach of river. Typical vegetation
along the banks includes a few mature cottonwoods with an understory of upland shrubs and
grasses. Fisheries in this and other segments of the river is poor. The Colorado Division
of Wildlife has identified heavy metals, high silt load, and high water velocities as the
limiting factors for fisheries in the Animas River north of Durango. The Walker Pit site is
located on private property owned by Mr. Donald Walker and leased by the applicant. The
pit contains approximately 3.40 acres of land differentiated into active nver channel and
riparian uplands. Surrounding land use is characterized as mixed agricultural, increasing
residential, and some commercial.
ADDITIONAL IlVFORMATION: The applicant indicates that this pit area has been in
operation for over 40 years. The Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Division of
Minerals and Geology, issued a 110 (limited impact) reclamation permit, identification
number M-87-044, to SANDCO in 1987. The Corps of Engineers was also contacted in
1987; and because the activity was limited to excavation, a determination was made that a
Department of the Army permit was not required. According to La Plata County, the
applicant's mining operation is in compliance with the county's land use regulations. On
October 19, 1993, the county adopted the Animas Valley Land Use Plan (Resolution
Number 1993-55) which classifies the existing 110 mine permit area (3.40 acres) as
Industrial District. Surrounding river property is categorized as River Corridor District.
In the past the Corps of Engineers (Corps) regulatory authority did not normally include
excavation activities within waters of the United States. On August 25, 1993, the Corps and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amended their permit regulations to clarify
the types of activities subject to Section 404 regulation. The final regulations, effective
September 24, 1993, implemented the following actions with regazd to the Clean Water Act
Section 404 regulatory program: (1) modification of the definition of "discharge of dredged
material" to include incidental discharges associated with excavation activities; (2)
clarification of when the placement of pilings is considered to be a discharge of fill material,
and; (3) codification of the Corps and EPA's policy that prior converted croplands aze not
waters of the United States. The term "dischazge of dredged or fill material" means any
addition of dredged or excavated material into, including a redeposit of dredged material
within, waters of the United States for the primary purpose of replacing an aquatic area with
dry land or of changing the bottom elevation of a waterbody. This definition was modified
to recognize that excavation activities generally result in at least some incidental discharge of
dredge material. Excavation activities that require a Corps permit include incidental
discharges of dredged material associated with mechanized land clearing, ditching, and other
excavation activities that destroy or degrade waters of the United States. This includes sand,
gravel, and placer mining activities.
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